Roadblock

Charles McGraw was not the typical film noir sap. Shrewd, decisive, granite-jawed and gravel-voiced; his fall into darkness is sometimes hard to stomach - it's more like a plunge. He's disgusted with himself for having the same lousy weaknesses as all the shlubs he's investigated. And when his transformation is complete and his every thought and action is ruled by his mushrooming greed and lust, his hitting rock bottom is like a small earthquake. You wait for the aftershocks.

This is a modest crime film that comes at the tail end of the noir cycle (and it was undoubtedly shrugged off by audiences at the time) but viewing it today 50 years after its release allows one to judge it with fresher eyes. It's brisk, surprisingly well-plotted and boasts that signature blunt dialogue that's like boxers exchanging jabs. As the femme fatale, Joan Dixon does little more than purse her lips and act icily alluring, but that's enough. As a big-time racketeer, Lowell Gilmore is ironically (or intentionally?) so unthreatening and personable that his eventual fate seems richly undeserved. And as in many of the best noir films, there is an almost choreographed pivotal moment (like a complicated dance step) where the star-crossed lovers both shift gears, switch course and unwittingly cement their fates.

Plainly and efficiently directed by Harold Daniels, there are a couple rough transitions and slip-ups where information that should be being conveyed between characters isn't (partially undermining final dramatic showdowns) but still a fine B picture. And what noir film would be complete without someone shouting a line like "You haven't got a chance! You've been in this business long enough to know that!"

In my book, all true film-noir films are good in one way or another. There's just something about a post war film-noir thriller and "Roadblock" as as good as any of them. I guess this qualifies as a B-picture, but I refuse to see it that way. What I liked about it was how the femme fatal crosses over from being a gold digging ice princess to actually choosing love over money. She is played by non other than Joan Dixon who went on to appear in only about four other films. Too bad, I thought she was really lovely. Then there's the great Charles McGraw. He's just made for the film-noir genre and just about my favorite noir actor. Here he literally plays good cop/bad cop. I actually caught myself feeling disappointed that he was a good guy who went wrong. For me, it had a great feel. The cinematography was done by Nicholas Musuraca who had one Oscar nod to his credit. A top camera guy is always as big in a noir as any of the on-screen actors. At under 75 minutes it certainly doesn't wear out it's welcome. If you love film noir, then add this one to your list!

BTW, I had recorded "Roadblaock"on DVD and just watched it yet again. Over two years later, my original review still stands. I watch it every time it's on TCM and I love it more and more. Along with Jack Carson, Charles McGraw is one of my very favorite "second tier" actors and "Roadblock" will always be a film that I'l urge others to seek out.

Oh, one last thing, "We Don't Have Your Size!"

I love this movie. I almost fell out of my chair the first time I saw it, 15 years ago on AMC. I could not believe McGraw was actually given a role like this. So often we see him as the heavy with a gun, not a woman, and we certainly never see him in love. He displays the right amount of angst and regret in this movie. The movie,though not great,is an example of what McGraw could do when given the right material and good direction. Too bad he was not given more roles like this. I have always felt that if McGraw had been with another studio, i.e.Warner Bros. which specialized in turning tough guys into leading men e.g. Cagney, Bogart,Raft, he would have had a better chance at becoming a leading man like the aforementioned actors,if not a more recognizable presence in movies. He certainly COULD have had more LEAD roles in "A" movies. Anyway, the movie is predictable in that you know Peters is not going to get away with the money. What is surprising or interesting is that the movie doesn't explain how Joe and Diane end up together. In one scene she is telling him he does not make enough money and a FEW scenes later she is smashing glasses in disgust and then professing her love for Joe. The ending is typical of movies of this sort. But it is an interesting movie in that we get to see "MAC" demonstrate feelings, probably for the first time in his career-no doubt due to his being typecast. Joan Dixon is okay as the female lead but I don't think she was the best choice. I guess she was given the role because Howard Hughes was "interested" in her career and was trying to mold her into another Jane Russell. Milburn Stone, Louis Jean Haydt (excellent character actor), and Lowell Gilmore (wonderful in "The Picture of Dorian Gray") are on the mark in their respective roles. Peter Brocco, the criminal at the beginning of the movie, is used to good effect here. (He and McGraw worked together in the "Narrow Margin" and "Spartucus". In fact,you can see the two talking in the latter during a gladiator film sequence; McGraw's "Marcellus" is stooped down talking to Brocco's character when he rises to watch the gladiators train). Mercedyz

Charles McGraw and Joan Dixon face a "Roadblock" in this 1951 film also starring Milburn Stone of "Gunsmoke" fame and Lowell Gilmore. McGraw is Joe Peters, an insurance detective who meets a beautiful, sexy woman, Diane, while traveling home by airplane after a case. The whole airplane thing was interesting in itself - spouses could fly half-price, I guess (as the Dixon character claims she and Joe are married so she can do so - she didn't have to show ID either). And though it still happens, it's less common to board from outdoors today.

Joe falls hard for Diane, but she isn't interested - he's not in her league. She wants someone who will spend big money on her. One night, Joe sees her in a club where he's on an investigation, and she's with the biggest mobster in town, Kendall Webb (Gilmore). Eventually, Joe's and Diane's passion get the better of them. Webb warns Joe that Diane's enamored state of being in love with a poor man is just temporary - once the bloom is off, she'll go for the money again. Joe decides to go into partnership with Webb and steal $1.4 million that's scheduled to be on a train.

McGraw, who had a big career in television until a few years before his death in 1980, is a solid noir actor - tough and good-looking. The character of Diane, however, is the one to watch. Dixon, helped by the script, gives her many layers and leaves you wondering (though you do know the answer) - was she a big chiseler or did she really care?

"Roadblock" is good and interesting if implausible - Joe gets himself in deeper and deeper. It's hard to believe he would turn that dramatically that quickly. It's a minor point in a way because it's still an atmospheric noir.

Joe Peters (Charles McGraw) is a no-nonsense insurance investigator. He unwillingly gets involved with chiseler Diane Morley (Joan Dixon). Later, he's investigating suspect Kendall Webb (Lowell Gilmore) who happens to be Diane's man. He has fallen for her and willingly corrupts his morals.

The story is told in a straight and narrow fashion like Joe's initial character. His downward slide is just as straight. There is a coldness to the stiff telling. It does have a car chase through the Los Angeles river bed. I wonder if it's the first or at least one of the first. It's also quite an epic walk off to end the film.